No, I haven't read them. Not because I'm particularly trying not to be spoiled, I just haven't gotten around to tracking them down. But all the reactions I've been seeing on my flist have prompted a thought or two, which I thought I'd share.
If, for the time being, we consider the spoilers genuine (and again, I haven't read them, so have no opinion either way), I'm interested in the reactions of the fans. Are people more likely to be honest about their opinions when it is possible (or even likely) that this isn't the 'real' Harry Potter?
Every single reaction I've seen has been negative, profoundly so in some cases. And this is coming from a wide cros-section of my flist (as well as random people on LJ/the internet), people I wouldn't be able to get to agree the sky was blue in normal circumstances. And yet they all agree on this. I've certainly never seen such uniformity of opinion on any of the actual books (For instance, IMO, OotP was mostly unmitigated rubbish, and yet I know some people think it was OK, and some who think it was the best in the series).
If these spoilers do turn out to be accurate, I'd be very interested in a comparison of the reactions posted before and after the spoilers were authenticated. This seems to me to be the best chance of get a reaction to the book uncluttered by the automatic canon/creator defense mechanism of many fans (not throwing stones here - I've been guilty of it too).
Of course, in this instance there are other issues to be cosidered- people being more critical because they suspect the information is faked, annoyance over spoilers, etc. Still, I think it would be interesting to look at, if they turn out to be real.
I also think this has some interesting insights into the different ways fans react to official sources versus unofficial (and specifically fan-created) work, but that may have to wait until I am fully awake to articulate properly.
ETA Have had a quick flick through the spoilers, since I figured this was a win/win situation. Either a) they are accurate and DH really is as bad as it looks, in which case I am forwarned, or b) they aren't accurate, and therefore the book almost has to be an improvement, and the exceeding of my expectations makes me happy. (That said, there are some parts which look good/interesting, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.)
ETA the 2nd Have done a slightly more intensive flick through the spoiler comms, and there are people who like it, so I stand corrected. I still think a comparison of reactions would be interesting.
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